The techniques for merging a set of images or image representations into a composite have been explored for some time. These may be segregated into a number of types: optical, digital two-dimensional, digital three dimensional, and video. Each has developed separately.
Recently, the processing power of home entertainment systems has grown substantially, allowing photorealistic, or nearly so, representations of computer generated objects to be displayed on a television set, including animations which implement physical laws. The software which generates these images and animations is quite sophisticated, and has gone through a number of generations.
Because photorealism is a subjective threshold, and in most cases, the image processing resources available are insufficient to perfectly present each image, the presentations made by these systems necessarily impose tradeoffs. Thus, by properly selecting simplifying presumptions, adequate quality may be obtained within the limits of the processing resources, and further leaving processing resources available for competing tasks.
Television video game systems such as those available from Sony (Playstation 2), Nintendo (Nintendo 64), Sega (Dreamcast), and Microsoft (X-Box), among others, typically include a game player which provides a standard video output. The game player is adapted to receive removable game disks or cartridges, each having a video game program stored therein. The game player includes a processor, which executes the video game program. Input devices such as joysticks or gamepads, permit a user to play the game. These games are typically predefined, and thus no personalization capability is provided, except perhaps persistent storage of game play parameters. Telecommunications systems may be incorporated into the game console, see, e.g., Sega Dreamcast, U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,292 (Hirano, et al.) Feb. 29, 2000.
Since these systems, which are often designed as set top boxes, e.g., an electronic device which is connected to a television set and which provides a signal to the television set, are intended primarily for home entertainment, application software is generally focused on this sphere. As the processing power and available resources increase, these devices are anticipated to assume other functions, including encompassing all set top box functionality, including digital video recording, computer integrated telephony, e-commerce, advertising, content browsing and Internet connectivity, in addition to the traditional gaming applications.
While these platforms are growing in capability, to date they do not provide a high level of customization or personalization. In order to maintain low cost, rewritable memory is minimized, and, for instance, is employed only to persistently store game parameters. Thus, it is difficult to personalize the system, since it is not intended to be a general purpose computing platform or to be easily upgradable, and does not provide user accessible persistent mass storage. This, of course, provide a substantial advantage in terms of system stability, since the manufacturer has almost complete control over the operating system and hardware. A further subtle issue is that programmers of entertainment titles must typically presume that a user has only the minimum hardware and software provided by the manufacturer, and therefore resist reliance on optional components. Thus, even if upgrades are available for the platform, developers tend not to rely on the use of hardware or software upgrades and focus instead on making the most of standard system equipment.
It is known to merge images, such as foreground and background images, to produce a composite image or image stream. It is further known to create a collage of image elements from various sources or from image fragments, to create a composite image. Finally, it is known to interact with an image database to store and retrieve images.
Various systems and methods have been proposed for producing pictures of human subjects with the head of one human being superimposed upon the body of another human being, animal, fish, etc. The superposition is normally accomplished “mechanically” by cutting around the outline of the head of a person shown in a first photograph and applying this head, in the proper position and orientation, to a body in a second paragraph. The resulting “mechanical” is thereafter photographed and/or scanned electronically to produce a third photograph or electronic image. Electronic implementation of this process is also known where the head is electronically traced and superimposed. This superposition process is time consuming and requires that the head and body in the first and second photographs, respectively, be adjusted in scale photographically. That is, that either the first or second photograph is enlarged or reduced so that the head and body are of the same relative size, for example. This superposition process is only rarely used, and when used it is generally limited to situations where the cost of the process is small compared to the cost of the overall desired product.
This superposition process is only rarely used, and when used it is generally limited to situations where the cost of the process is small compared to the cost of the overall desired product.
Steir et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,171 relates to a system for superimposing images. A video image of a head is captured, and a separate hairstyle is overlayed with a translation and scaling transform. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,568.
It is known to personalize books or images, and book-on-demand publishing technologies are well established. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,729,674, 4,731,743, 4,616,327, 3,982,744 and 3,892,427. U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,579 provides a system for customizing prerecorded video media. A so-called digital dressing room is known, see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,528 wherein garments are digitally superimposed on the body type and shape of a user, showing the user's face.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,570, expressly incorporated herein by reference, provides a system for customizing prerecorded video media.
A so-called digital dressing room is known, see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,528, expressly incorporated herein by reference, wherein garments are digitally superimposed on the body type and shape of a user, showing the user's face.
It is also known to replace a facial portion within an image with an extrinsic facial image. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,306, and references cited therein. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,398,664, 3,864,708, 4,037,249, 4,052,739, 4,130,834, 4,190,856, 4,240,104, 4,258,385, 4,317,114, 4,357,624, 4,409,618, 4,439,783, 4,463,380, 4,506,289, 5,345,313, and 5,557,179. A montage may also be created of facial image portions. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,690.
Computer generated graphics are well known, as are live video windows within computer graphics screens. U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,848 relates to the use of a chroma key system for generating animated graphics. U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,912 relates to a computer animated graphics system employing a chroma key superposition technique. U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,313 relates to an image editing system for taking a background and inserting part of an image therein, relying on image analysis of the foreground image. U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,517 relates to a virtual reality, integrated real and virtual environment display system employing chroma key technology to merge the two environments.
It is also known to scan photographs electronically, which may be used to produce customized portraits on self-adhesive paper labels. It is also known to print a plurality of portrait photographs in a variety of sizes on photographic paper.
Known systems for accounting and payment for on-line transactions include credit and debit card transactions, direct deposit and wire transfer, Micro Payment Transfer Protocol (MPTP), Millicent (Compaq Computer Corp.), and a number of other systems. Typically, these systems seek to provide secured transactions, to ensure to some degree of reliability against the risk of non-payment.
A known system for presentation of multimedia presentations through Internet protocols is the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) Boston Specification (W3C Working Draft 3 Aug. 1999).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,046, to Kahn et al. relates to a system for recording set top box software, received over a broadband communications link, in local memory. Thus, it is well known to provide addressable set top boxes for selective delivery of media content and accounting therefor.
There exists a need in the art to provide a process for personalizing, using sophisticated and high quality data, video games and other content for use with a set top box, through efficient means.